han
the natives sallied forth from the thicket, and, running up to their
middles in the water to within thirty yards of the vessel, set up a loud
shout which startled us not a little; for, busied as we were in securing
the anchor and making sail, our attention at the moment was otherwise
directed; and the first intimation that we had of their vicinity was from
the noise they made, which was accompanied by violent gestures and
pressing invitations for our return; but we continued on our way, and
disregarded all their solicitations. They were evidently very much
disappointed, since they expected to get some axes from us, for they made
the same signs as the Luxmore Head natives had done by repeatedly
imitating the action of chopping. On the south shore there were some
women and children under the protection of two natives, whose voices were
also loudly raised for our recall. The natives on our side were unarmed,
but two bundles of spears were detected, propped up against a tree, close
at hand. After some time they waded back to the shore, and slowly walked
towards our wooding-place, where they, of course, found a chisel that had
purposely been left for them upon the stump of a tree which had been
felled by our wooding-party.

As soon as we crossed the bar we anchored, in order to obtain some lunar
distances to fix the longitude of the port, as well as to bring up and
complete the chart of this part of the coast. During the day, the natives
remained at our wooding-place, and set the bushes on fire, the smoke of
which enveloped the horizon and the neighbouring coast.

The names of Port Hurd and Mount Hurd were given to the harbour and the
round-backed hill, after the late Captain Thomas Hurd of the Royal Navy,
the Hydrographer of the Admiralty; the outer bay was called Gordon Bay.

May 28.

We left Gordon Bay the next morning, and passed round its low South-West
extremity, which proved to be Captain Baudin's Cape Helvetius. From this
point the coast trends to the southward to Cape Fourcroy. In this
interval the shore is formed by cliffs of a very dark red colour, and,
half way between, is a projecting sandhill of remarkable appearance.

May 29 and 30.

During this and the following day we made very little progress. On the
30th at daylight we had a southerly wind; by eight o'clock we saw the
land in patches to the northward, and some low islands bearing east. The
land to the north was a part of the south side of Melvill